Tales of Dollarama
by Wavemasterkaz
Summary: The TOS party all get jobs at Dollarama. The boss is an idiot, customers are annoying, debit is down, and the cashiers need voids out the wazoo. How will Kratos handle the management pressure?
1. Prologue: Before the Shift

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything in this story except for Sora and Eccah. Yes.

In the way too early hours of a Monday morning, several weary-looking people stood in front of the newly completed Dollarama store. As it was far too early for their liking, most of them were rather irritable, but nonetheless eager to get into the store. After about twenty minutes of waiting, the newly hired workers grew impatient.

Lloyd, a taller brown haired young man grumbled as he ran his fingers through his spiked brown hair.

"Come ON!" he growled. "We've been waiting for-EVER!" As if on cue, the door clattered loudly as it was pushed open. Turning, they saw that it was Kratos who was pushing the door.

"Dad?!" Lloyd exclaimed in shock. Kratos smirked.

"No," he said. "While you are at work, I'm not your father, I am your boss and you will refer to me as such. Now. Who's ready for their first shift?"


	2. Ch I Strange Boss, New Positions

**Disclaimer**: Once again, I do not own anything in this story except for Eccah and Sora. Dollarama is a real store.

**Ch I**

_Strange Boss, New Positions_

As Kratos closed the door behind them, a sudden sense of doom settled over them. The dingy-looking green and yellow dollar logos stared down at them from the top of every aisle, and the flourescent lighting flickered in the ceiling.

"Suddenly..." Sheena muttered. "I'm not so excited to start work anymore..." A collective shudder ran though the employees. They seemed to share ther sentiment. Kratos turned to them with a dutiful expression on his face.

"Follow me," he said. "It's time to meet your boss." Genis raised one eyebrow.

"But...didn't you just say _you_ were our boss?" he said. Kratos chuckled.

"You'll understand when you meet him." was all he replied. The crew followed Kratos to the back of the store and through the door marked "Employees Only". After manouvering their way around the boxes and trolleys that were piled haphazardly in the small stock room, they came to a door marked "Office". Before opening the door, Kratos indicated the washrooms and the break room. As he opened the door their eyes fell upon a blonde haired young man who looked no older than twenty.

"Ah, hello there." he said. "You must be my new employees." He surveyed their faces and then his expression grew stern.

"While you are here, I am your God and you will treat me as such." the blonde man said. "You will not call me by my first name, Mithos, but Lord Yggdrasill, or My Lord. You will do as I say, when I say. You will greet every customer with the phrase:

'Welcome to Dollarama, the domain of the Great Lord and God, Yggdrasill. I am his humble slave and you too, will bow to his extreme awesomeness. Failure to comply will result in him emerging from his awesome castle of awesomeness, and kicking your ass with his awesome boot of awesomeness.' Got it? Make sure you memorize that."

As the new employees stared blankly at him, he said,

"Good, so you've got it. Next order of business. One of you shall be a cashier, one a keyholder, and the rest of you will spend your shifts either catering to my every whim, or spreading the word of how awesome I am."

Once again, his speech was met with a stunned silence. After a moment of looking around at them all, he pointed at a small-ish blue haired boy and beckoned him forward.

"You," he snapped. "Your name." The boy blinked and looked surprised. Yggdrasill glared at him. "Well? I don't have all day! What's your name, boy?!"

"J-Jay..." the boy stammered. Yggdrasill snapped his fingers and pointed to the door.

"I don't like you. You're fired." he said. "Go away." Jay looked even more surprised and stammered.

"B-but sir, you hired me yourself! I'm the only one here that actually had an interview!" At another snap of Yggdrasill's fingers, the boy was hoisted off his feet by mall security who had appeared out of nowhere and thrown out the back door.

"Any more questions?" Yggdrasill asked with an unpleasant smile. No one said a word. Yggdrasill seemed pleased.

"Good." he said.

~*~*~*~

"So, because Mithos is so self-centered and useless," Kratos said once they were at the front of the store again. "You will only follow his orders if he is around to watch you. He will remain in the office most times, but you will be warned of him leaving by a P.A. announcement of "Code I", but as long as he's still there, we're going to run this place as a store, not a Mithos Yggdrasill fan club."

"Now tell me how this is s'posed to work," Zelos said, his voice full of sarcastic humour. "The store opens in twenty minutes, and none of us even know what we're doing. We don't even have positions."

"I was getting to that." Kratos said. "Now, because women tend to be a little more social, most of our cashiers will be female. Colette will be head cash, and Sheena, you will be her first call. When you're not helping her, do the returns, stock gum, batteries and glasses."

The two in question hurried to their positions as Kratos surveyed the others. His eyes fell upon a shy-looking girl with black and blonde hair and bright blue eyes. When asked her namee, she timidly replied that it was Eccah. She then became Colette's third call, and in charge of keeping the store clean, and the pop cooler full. Zelos, also being rather social, was assigned to be the fourth call, and to clean aisles 1, 7, and 10, the party aisle, the food aisle, and the kitchen and bath aisle. Raine and Regal became keyholders, and Genis was given aisles 2 and 4 to clean, toys and crafts. Presea became the cleaner of aisles 5 and 6, hygeine and seasonal, a red-haired boy unknown to the others became the cleaner of aisles 3, 8 and 9, the hardware, canned goods and linens, and tupperware/glass aisles, while Lloyd became the store's floorwalker.

"Now," Kratos said, when all of the positions were filled. "Are you ready to work?" An ominous feeling fell on them ashe pushed the door open and several waiting customers filed in.


	3. Ch II Do You Work Here?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tales of Symphonia or Dollarama, but I do own Sora and Eccah. They's mine bitches :D Oh, and I don't own Exact-O.

**Ch II**

_"Do You Work Here?"_

"Um, Kratos?" Colette asked timidly before he could walk away. "Do we have to greet the customers like Lord Yggrasill told us to? Because.... I don't remember how it went..." Kratos sighed.

"No Colette," he said. "You don't have to greet them like that. Just say hello and be polite." He though for a moment. "Although, it may be a wise decision to learn it for when Mithos leaves the office." When Kratos had left to go to the back room, a customers sidled up to Colette's register with several items in her arms.

"Hello ma'am!" Colette said cheerfully, smiling. The woman smiled back as she placed her items on the table counter.

"Why hello there," she said. The two exchanged bits and pieces of pleasant chatter until everything had been rung through and the woman was on her way.

_This isn't so hard..._ Colette thought to herself. _I think I'm going to like my job._ The next few customers were just as pleasant, and the first hour or so of her first shift was going well. Colette felt rather proud of herself.

_Meanwhile, with Sheena_

As she pushed a shopping cart around the store looking for items out of place, Sheena sighed.

_How can there be any items out of place? The store just opened twenty minutes ago! I'm wasting my time over here...maybe I should just go and stock the gum and batteries.. not that they'll need it..._ she thought. Just as she was about to turn her cart around and head back to the front of the store, she heard the sound of giggling and a loud, tinkling crash, followed by hurrying footsteps. Her heart sinking, Sheena turned and went into the next aisle, the craft and candle aisle. Genis was standing there looking dumbfounded, staring at a pile of broken glass on the floor.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed. "I was watching them because I _knew_ they'd break something. I turn my back for _one_ second, and they smash four lanterns! Dammit! I should give 'em a taste of my fire ball!"

"And get yourself fired, good plan." Sheena replied sarcastically.

"What do I do?" he asked forlornly. Sheena sighed.

"I don't know," she said. "Call that black haired girl, whatever-her-name-is. Isn't it her job to keep the store clean?"

_Meanwhile, with Eccah_

"Eccah to cash please." Colette's voice rang over the P.A. Eccah was confused, but proceeded to the front of the store anyway. When she reached the registers, there were only tree customers in line, hardly enough to call for a second cashier. Besides, wasn't Sheena Colette's first call?

"You needed me?" she asked quietly as she entered the 'cash box'. Colette turned to her.

"Oh, no, sorry, I'm just up here, so I'm the one who has to call people when they're needed." Colette replied. "Genis needs you in...ohh, what aisle was it? The one with all the pretty yarn and stuff!"

"...You mean...the craft aisle..?"

"Yeah! That's the one! Um... aisle four!" Eccah sighed.

"Okay," she said. "I'm on my way."

_Meanwhile, back with Sheena_

Her returns cart back at the front, Sheena reached into her green Dollarama apron and pulled out an Exact-O knife. Just as she was about to grab a box of gum from the "Employees Only" cupboard in the 'cash box', there was a tap on her shoulder, and a voice said,

"Excuse me, do you work here?" Turning, she saw a woman who looked to be in her thirties.

"Um..." she replied, feeling a bit confused. Wasn't the fact that she was wearing a store apron, reaching into an "Employees Only" cupboard and in the employees only 'cash box' enough of an answer to that question?

"Do you work here?" the woman repeated. Still a bit confused, Sheena nodded.

"Oh..." she said. "Yeah, I do."

"Oh good!" the woman exclaimed. "Now, I have a question."

"And it is..?" Sheena asked. The woman held up two packages of feminine hygiene products, one package bigger than the other.

"Which of these is cheaper?" she asked. After a moment, still very taken aback, Sheena replied,

"Um...they're both a dollar."

"And how much is this?" the woman held up a pack of batteries.

"A dollar."

"And this?" A box of staples.

"One dollar."

"And how about this?" A birthday bag. Sheena sighed.

"Ma'am," she said. "It's _Dollarama_. Everything in the store is a dollar."

"Oh, but what about--"

"It's a dollar."

_Meanwhile, with Eccah_

No matter where she looked in the back room, Eccah could not find a dustpan. There were several brooms, six in fact, and a mop, but not a single dustpan. With a sigh, she headed up to the front of the store, where she had seen another broom. Perhaps there would be a dust pan there. However, there was not.

_Maybe I can just use one from the sales floor and return it later..._ she thought. Heading over to aisle ten, she began to search the aisle, but before she got very far, an arm wrapped around her waist, startling her.

"Why hello there, little cutie," a voice said in her ear. "I don't believe we've met." Still startled, Eccah's reflexes kicked in and she elbowed the man behind her, wrenching herself free. The man gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, and as she turned, she saw that it was the man that the others had called Zelos. Winded, he said,

"You've got quite the arm there, my cute little fighter." Eccah scowled.

"Don't call me that." she said. "I have a name, and I'm not your anything. I don't even know you!" Zelos straightened and smiled at her.

"Oh that's right," he said. "I'm sorry, my little fighter. I am the great and most sexy Zelos. It's my pleasure, cutie." Eccah raised one eyebrow.

"Riiiiggghhhttt..." she said. "Good for you." As she walked away, she heard him mutter,

"Ouch, so cold..." Ignoring him, she continued to look for a dustpan. Soon enough, however, he was behind her again.

"So what exactly are you looking for, miss..."

"Eccah." she said. "And I'm looking for a dustpan. We have a million brooms, but no dustpans." Zelos hmmed.

"Well," he said. "Those would be right over here, but...you can't just use one and put it back..."

"What do I do then?" Eccah replied. "I've got a pile of broken glass in aisle four, and nothing to clean it up with."

"See, that's where my little trick comes in handy." Zelos replied. Raising one eyebrow, Eccah turned to look at him.

"Trick..?"

"Sure!" Zelos said with a sly smile. "You won't have to pay for it, and the store can continue to use it in the future!" He grabbed the nearest dustpand, and right before Eccah's eyes, snapped off the handle. Eccah gasped.

"Zelos!" she hissed. "What the hell are you doing?!" Zelos chuckled.

"Relax," he said, smirking. "Just go write it off as damaged merch. It's fine!" Eccah sighed again.

_I'm gonna have to keep my eye on this guy..._ she though as she carried the pan to the front.

_Meanwhile, with Presea_

The seasonal boxes were very heavy, but Presea had little trouble lifting them. However, her green Dollarama apron was a little too big for her and it kept falling down around her legs, making it difficult to move. Finally, after becoming irked, she took a length of string from the back and tied it around the apron to hold it up around her waist. Climbing up on the "Employees Only" ladder with a box of sand toys that needed to be put out, she jumped as she heard a sudden voice from below her.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" Slowly and calmly, Presea placed the box she'd been carrying on top of her ladder, climbed down, and looked the man in the eye.

"One would think that it would be rather obvious that yes, I am an employee of the store in question." she replied calmly.

"Excuse me?" the man exclaimed, looking a bit offended.

"The evidence suggests that while you were probably trying to be polite, you failed horribly and only succeeded in making yourself look like a rather unintelligent individual. The fact that I am up on an 'employees only' ladder, wearing a Dollarama apron, and carrying a box of Dollarama merchandise should be enough of an answer to your question thta you should not even bother asking in the first place. You could have just started with the question that you had planned to ask me once we had established the fact that I work here. " she said. The man blinked at her for a moment, then walked away, saying he'd find someone else.

"Have a good day, sir." Presea called after him.

_Meanwhile, with Lloyd_

There were several teens in the toy aisle that looked a bit suspicious to him, but he hadn't actually _seen_ them stealing, so he didn't know what to do. He watched them out of the corner of his eye, while pretending to choose what colour of Play-Doh he was going to buy. They were talking quietly amongst themselves, passing several packs of cards to each other and one boy kept putting his hands in his pockets. Finally, after about ten minutes, he saw one of them stash three packs of cards in his pockets. His heart began to beat quickly. How was he supposed to do this? Walking over to the group, he tapped the thief on the shoulder.

"Come with me, please." he said as calmly as he could. The boy's eyes grew wide, and Lloyd felt empowered. This boy didn't even know he was in trouble and he was afraid. The group followed Lloyd into the back room wordlessly, and stood very close together as Lloyd yelled to Kratos.

As his father emerged from the office with an irritated expression, Lloyd had to admit that the Dollarama apron did make Kratos look a little less dangerousd, but he was as intimidating as he needed to be to terrify the shoplifters.

"Do we have a problem?" he asked quietly as he approached them.

"Shoplifters," Lloyd said in his most impressive tough guy voice. Kratos fixed the teens with a piercing stare.

"Oh really?" he said in a terrifyingly soft voice. The leader (or so he appeared to be) trembled. Kratos glared at him and just as quietly said,

"Empty your pockets." The teens stared at him for a moment. "Must I repeat myself?" Kratos said in the same dangerously quiet voice. The shoplifters hurriedly began to empty their pockets. When they were done, four packs of cards, a container of Play-Doh, three chocolate bars and a pregnancy test lay on the floor before them. Kratos chuckled as he picked up the pregnancy test and held it at eye level.

"Too embarrassed to buy it, were you?" he said with a smirk to the only girl in the group. She hung her head, her face burning. Kratos sighed. "Not as embarrassed as you're going to be when the police and your parents are called and told what you stole." Turning to Lloyd, Kratos said,

"Since you caught them, you'll have to stay here with us until the police get here." Lloyd sighed, and settled in for a long wait.


End file.
